no country for human rights activists · 2018. 1. 13. · no country for human rights activists 2...

NO COUNTRY FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTSAssaults on Bloggers and Democracy Campaigners in Vietnam

H U M A N

R I G H T S

W A T C H

No Country for Human Rights Activists Assaults on Bloggers and Democracy Campaigners in Vietnam

Copyright © 2017 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 978-1-6231-34846 Cover design by Rafael Jimenez Human Rights Watch defends the rights of people worldwide. We scrupulously investigate abuses, expose the facts widely, and pressure those with power to respect rights and secure justice. Human Rights Watch is an independent, international organization that works as part of a vibrant movement to uphold human dignity and advance the cause of human rights for all.

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JUNE 2017 ISBN: 978-1-6231-34846

No Country for Human Rights Activists Assaults on Bloggers and Democracy Campaigners in Vietnam

Map of Vietnam ................................................................................................................... I

Summary ........................................................................................................................... 1

Key Recommendations ....................................................................................................... 6 To the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam ........................................................... 6 To the Vietnamese National Assembly (VNA) ............................................................................ 6

Methodology ...................................................................................................................... 7

I. Background ..................................................................................................................... 9 A Long History of Repression .................................................................................................... 9

II. Beating of Bloggers and Activists ................................................................................. 12 Attacks on Huynh Thanh Phat and Tran Hoang Phuc, April 13, 2017 .......................................... 12 Attacks on Nguyen Trung Ton and Nguyen Viet Tu, February 27, 2017 ....................................... 15 Attack on Nguyen Thi Thai Lai, February 12, 2017 ..................................................................... 16 Attack on Nguyen Ho Nhat Thanh, December 26, 2016 ............................................................ 18 Attack on Nguyen Van Dung, December 23, 2016 .................................................................... 19 Attack on Truong Minh Huong, December 22, 2016 ................................................................. 20 Attack on Nguyen Cong Huan, December 2, 2016 .................................................................... 21 Attack on Dinh Hong Quyen, December 2, 2016 ....................................................................... 22 Attacks on To Oanh, July 13, 2016 and April 24, 2015 .............................................................. 23 Attacks on La Viet Dung, July 10, 2016 and May 7, 2016 ........................................................... 24 Attacks on Do Duc Hop, June 25, 2016 and May 8, 2016 .......................................................... 26 Attack on Mai Thi Dung, June 22, 2016 ................................................................................... 28 Attacks on Nguyen Van Thanh, June 5, 2016 and August 4, 2015 ............................................. 29 Threats and Attacks on Hoa Hao Buddhists, June 2-3, 2016 ..................................................... 30 Attack on Nguyen Phuong, May 19, 2016 ................................................................................. 31 Attacks on Tran Thi Hong, March 30, April 14, and May 13, 2016 .............................................. 33 Attack on Nguyen Van The, May 7, 2016 .................................................................................. 34 Attack on Nguyen Ngoc Tan and Nguyen Thi Lien, April 22, 2016 .............................................. 35 Attack on Nguyen Dinh Cuong, April 14, 2016 .......................................................................... 35

Attack on Truong Van Dung, Trung Nghia, Tu Anh Tu, and Can Thi Theu, April 8, 2016 ............... 36 Attacks on Hoa Hao Buddhist followers, April 2, 2016 ............................................................. 37 Attack on Tran Minh Nhat, February 22, 2016 .......................................................................... 38 Attack on Tran Thi Nga, February 21, 2016 .............................................................................. 40 Attack on Father Dang Huu Nam, December 31, 2015 ............................................................... 42 Attacks on Nguyen Van Dai, Ly Quang Son, Vu Van Minh (also known as Vu Duc Minh), and Le Manh Thang, December 6, 2015 .............................................................................................. 44 Attack on Nguyen Nang Tinh, November 24, 2015 ................................................................... 47 Attack on Trinh Anh Tuan, October 30, 2015 ........................................................................... 48 Attacks on Chu Manh Son, Tran Thi Nga, Truong Minh Tam, Le Thi Huong, Phan Van Khanh, and Le Dinh Luong, August 28, 2015 ............................................................................................. 49 Attacks on Truong Minh Tam, August 24 and 28, 2015 ............................................................. 52 Attacks on Nguyen Tuong Thuy and Others, June 25, 2015 ....................................................... 53 Attack on Dinh Quang Tuyen, May 19, 2015 ............................................................................. 54 Attack on Nguyen Chi Tuyen, May 11, 2015 .............................................................................. 55 Attacks on Nguyen Hong Quang, March 25, 2015 ..................................................................... 57 Attacks on Nguyen Thanh Ha and Lai Son Tien, March 18, 2015 ............................................... 58 Attacks on Nguyen Thi Luyen, Pham Thi Nhuong, and Suot, February 17, 2015 .......................... 59 Attack on Huynh Cong Thuan, January 26, 2015 ..................................................................... 60

III. Recommendations ....................................................................................................... 62 To the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam ......................................................... 62 To the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security ........................................................................ 62 To the Vietnamese National Assembly .................................................................................... 63 To Donor Agencies and Concerned Countries including the US, the EU, the UK, Japan, Australia, the UN, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank ..................................................... 64

Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................ 65

I HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | JUNE 2017

Map of Vietnam

1 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | JUNE 2017

Summary In celebration of International Human Rights Day, on the morning of December 6, 2015, the prominent lawyer and human rights activist Nguyen Van Dai delivered a talk at Van Loc parish in Nam Dan district, Nghe An province, about the rights enshrined in Vietnam’s Constitution. That afternoon, he left for Hanoi, accompanied by fellow activists Ly Quang Son, Vu Van Minh (also known as Vu Duc Minh), and Le Manh Thang. During the course of the journey, their taxi was forcibly stopped by a group of roughly a dozen men wearing civilian clothing and disguised by surgical masks. Nguyen Van Dai says the men dragged them out of the taxi, beating them with wooden sticks on their thighs and shoulders, and forced him into their car. The beating continued inside the car:

They slapped me on my face continuously, and hit me on my ears and my mouth. Once the car arrived at Cua Lo beach, they stripped me of my jacket and shoes, pushed me out onto the beach and left.

The three other rights activists were also severely beaten. According to Ly Quang Son:

The thugs dragged Vu Van Minh out [of the car] and hit him repeatedly in the legs with a stick.… They also dragged Thang out of the car, hitting him in the chest with a stick. Minh tried to hold on to Thang and I tried to grab their sticks. Then another thug whipped me on my hand and I had to release the stick. I used my feet to kick them about the face and head, but they struck me on my ankles, shins, and calves. Minh was unable to hold on to Thang.

Ly Quang Son reported that the men drove Le Manh Thang away in a car to an unknown location, took his cell phone and wallet, and abandoned him by the side of the road. During the trip, the men punched Thang repeatedly in his face and body. According to Nguyen Van Dai and Ly Quang Son, the taxi driver was also beaten by the men. The December 6 incident was not the first time Nguyen Van Dai had been attacked in this way. In May 2014, while in a café in Hanoi along with several rights activists, a group of

NO COUNTRY FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS 2

men appeared, threw a glass at him, and beat him. In January and March 2015, groups of men attacked his house and tried to break down the door.

*** The attacks on Nguyen Van Dai and his colleagues illustrate a disturbing trend in Vietnam: physical assaults on activists by groups of men who appear to act at the direction of or with the acquiescence of officials. To date, most authoritative assessments of human rights conditions in Vietnam have relied on measures of formal judicial repression (data on arrests, trials, convictions, and sentences imposed by Communist Party-controlled courts or officials acting in their formal capacities), and give too little attention to the frequency and significance of the kind of attacks documented here, effectively a form of extra-judicial repression. This report attempts to fill in the gap, documenting 36 recent cases in which human rights activists were beaten by “thugs” in Vietnam. All the accounts are based on online sources, including eyewitness accounts of assaults posted on Vietnamese-language blogs and social media, often with photographic evidence, as well as on foreign media accounts, cross-checked against other independent accounts of the same incidents wherever possible. All the assaults documented here took place between January 2015 and April 2017. In many cases, the assaults took place in plain view of uniformed police officers who did not intervene. Some of the beatings took place in the presence of uniformed officers within the confines of a police station. In many of the cases, the assaults took place in tandem with and seemingly in support of official repressive measures against the activists in question. In almost all the cases, the activists targeted by “thugs” were also targeted for arrest and other forms of official repression. While the precise links between the thugs and the government are usually impossible to pin down, in a tightly controlled police state there is little or no doubt that they are aligned with and serving at the behest of state security services. Physical attacks against human rights activists and bloggers in Vietnam are not a new phenomenon. For example, upon returning to Vietnam in December 2005 from a trip to the United States for medical treatment, the late dissident Hoang Minh Chinh and his family


were set upon by a mob of about 50 people. The mob cursed Hoang Minh Chinh for publicly criticizing rights violations in Vietnam while he was overseas. They used wooden sticks to break down the door and to smash the windows of his home; threw rotten shrimp paste, tomatoes, and eggs into his house; and kicked and hit members of his family. The family called the police; police officers came but simply witnessed the attack, doing nothing to stop it. Other prominent rights bloggers and activists have suffered physical assault prior to the period covered by this report, including prominent former political prisoners Huynh Ngoc Tuan, Le Quoc Quan, Truong Minh Duc, Nguyen Bac Truyen, Pham Ba Hai, Bui Thi Minh Hang, Pham Thanh Nghien, Do Thi Minh Hanh and Le Thi Cong Nhan, and activists Nguyen Hoang Vi, Le Quoc Quyet, Duong Thi Tan, Ngo Duy Quyen, Pham Le Vuong Cac, Huynh Thuc Vy, and many others. Information about these kinds of attacks is incomplete because of limitations on access to Vietnam and censorship of the media. Human Rights Watch research has found that in 2013, Vietnam convicted at least 65 rights activists and bloggers and sentenced them collectively to several hundred years in prison. During that same year, according to a report issued by the Association of Former Prisoners of Conscience (Hoi Cuu Tu nhan Luong tam), at least 18 physical attacks were carried out against 71 rights campaigners. In 2014, during an especially contentious phase of negotiations over the Trans-Pacific Partnership between Vietnam and the United States, the number of people convicted for political crimes in Vietnam decreased to 31. However, according to the Association of Former Prisoners of Conscience, the number of physical attacks increased to at least 31 incidents targeting 135 rights bloggers and activists. In 2015, the number of reported convictions continued to decrease, with only seven activists convicted throughout the year. On the other hand, according to research by Human Rights Watch, roughly 50 bloggers and activists reported that they were assaulted in 20 separate incidents. In 2016, at least 21 rights campaigners were convicted while at least 20 physical assaults were carried out against more than 50 people. Physical attacks against rights campaigners usually take place in four different situations. The first is an attack against a single individual, either at home or on the street. Examples


include attacks against Father Nguyen Van The in May 2016, Nguyen Van Thanh in June 2016, La Viet Dung in July 2016, and Nguyen Trung Ton in February 2017. A second situation is when a group of rights activists suffers an attack, often for carrying out acts in support of fellow activists, such as visiting a recently released political prisoner or attending a wedding of a rights campaigner. Examples of these attacks include assaults against visitors of political prisoners Tran Anh Kim in January 2015 and Tran Minh Nhat in August 2015. A third situation involves attacks against activists for participating in public events such as pro-environment protests, or demonstrations outside local police stations demanding the release of fellow activists. A fourth context is inside police stations, as with the reported beatings of Tran Thi Hong and Truong Minh Tam in April 2016 while they were being detained for interrogation. In many incidents, assailants are reported to have worn surgical masks. In some cases, as noted above, activists report that uniformed police were present, but did nothing to stop the attack. In almost all cases, no one is held responsible for the attacks. Many activists have made reports to the police about the attacks, but few if any investigations seem to have been carried out; Human Rights Watch is aware of only one case in which the attackers and local police leaders alleged to be responsible for the assault were investigated. Despite great risks to their personal safety and freedom, the community of rights bloggers and activists continues to grow bigger and stronger in Vietnam. Aided by the internet, particularly social networks such as Facebook and YouTube, rights campaigners increasingly are in contact and support one another in their struggles for political freedom and basic rights. Numerous rights groups have been founded within the last five years, including the pro-democracy No-U Football Club, the Association of Gourd and Squash Mutual Assistance (Hoi Bau bi Tuong than), Vietnamese Women for Human Rights (Hoi Phu nu Nhan quyen Viet Nam), the Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam (Hoi Nha bao Doc lap Viet Nam), Former Vietnamese Prisoners of Conscience (Hoi Cuu Tu nhan Luong tam Viet Nam),


the Brotherhood for Democracy (Hoi Anh em Dan chu), and the Association for Support of Victims of Torture (Hoi Ho tro Nan nhan Bao hanh). In addition to carrying out traditional rights activities such as staging peaceful protests, publishing writings critical of the government, and signing open petitions, bloggers and activists visit families of political prisoners or activists in need and provide small but meaningful financial support. They wait at airports to welcome home fellow activists who return from advocacy trips abroad and are frequently detained by police. They go to police stations to demand the release of fellow activists detained for participating in peaceful protests. Brutal repression, including the physical attacks documented in this report, have certainly deterred some in Vietnam from activism, but many others have courageously continued to call for the creation of a rights-respecting democracy.


Key Recommendations

To the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam • Leaders at national, provincial, and local levels should publicly and

unambiguously condemn physical assaults and other forms of harassment and retaliation against rights bloggers and activists, emphasizing that such acts are illegal and will not be tolerated, and that anyone involved in ordering or facilitating such attacks will be held responsible.

• Leaders should immediately order thorough and impartial investigations of all cases in which rights bloggers and activists are assaulted, intimidated, or threatened; prosecutors should bring charges against all persons credibly implicated in the attacks and other criminal acts.

• Leaders at the national level should hold provincial and local leaders accountable for acts of violence against rights bloggers and activists that occur under their watch.

To the Vietnamese National Assembly (VNA) • The VNA should issue a resolution that publicly and unambiguously

condemns physical assaults and other forms of harassment and retaliation against rights bloggers and activists, emphasizing that such acts are illegal and will not be tolerated.

• The VNA should repeal or amend provisions in the penal code that criminalize peaceful dissent on the basis of imprecisely defined “national security” crimes, as detailed in the full recommendations section at the end of this report.


Methodology The data presented here on physical assaults against rights bloggers and activists in Vietnam during the roughly 27-month period between January 2015 and April 2017 was obtained (and cross-checked when possible) from four kinds of sources accessed primarily through the internet:

1. foreign news services;

2. social media websites such as Facebook and YouTube;

3. independent blogs and websites based inside Vietnam; and

4. independent blogs and websites based outside of Vietnam.

These sources include a mix of anonymous and named sources. Human Rights Watch has taken pains to verify cases by cross-checking claims by victims and witnesses wherever possible with other eyewitness accounts of the same incidents reported in the media or posted on other blogs, websites, or social media. Foreign news services used as sources in this report include Radio Free Asia (RFA), Voice of America, the BBC, Radio France Internationale, Nguoi Viet, and Saigon Broadcasting Television Network. While these news sources do not generally have staff on the ground in Vietnam, they do conduct extensive interviews through telephone and the internet with victims and eyewitnesses. Facebook and YouTube have emerged as the key social media platforms that activists use to describe episodes of abuse and mistreatment. Among the most important independent blogs and websites outside of Vietnam are Dan Lam Bao (Citizen Journalism), Dan Luan (Citizen Discussion), and Ba Sam. Reliable blogs and websites based in Vietnam (or run by people who live in Vietnam) include Thanh nien Cong giao (Catholic Youth), Tin mung cho nguoi ngheo (Good News for the Poor), Defend the Defenders, and Thoi bao Viet Nam. A note on terminology: the unidentified male assailants responsible for the attacks in the cases described in this report are commonly referred to by Vietnamese sources using the


Vietnamese term “con do,” which we have translated as “thug.” Human Rights Watch’s use of the term is not meant to imply any particular profile, or identify any particular individual. Following local Vietnamese usage, Human Rights Watch uses the generic term “stick” (“gay” in Vietnamese) to refer to the weapon of choice employed by assailants. The term covers a range of informal implements including makeshift clubs, wooden rods, and bamboo rods.


I. Background

A Long History of Repression Since the communist government was founded in 1945, it has always dealt harshly with its critics.1 When fighting against France during the late 1940s and early 1950s, the Communist Party eliminated thousands of fellow Vietnamese who failed to support its war effort.2 After the end of French colonialism and the establishment of an independent state in northern Vietnam in 1954, the Party killed thousands of “class enemies” as part of a notoriously brutal land reform program and cracked down on dozens of reformist intellectuals who called for modest political liberalization.3 During the civil war against the U.S.-backed Republic of Vietnam during the 1960s and 70s, the northern government ordered the assassination of tens of thousands of civilian “traitors” and “puppets” in the southern half of the country.4 The communist government was almost continuously at war during the first several decades of its existence, was ideologically opposed to liberalism, and thus tolerated little or no domestic political dissent. With the end of the war in 1975 and the creation of a unified state, the victorious government in Hanoi engaged in harsh repression of dissidents and exercised a large program for the forced “re-education” of former soldiers, civil servants, and government officials in the South.5 With the introduction of economic reforms in the late 1980s,

1 David Marr, Vietnam: State, War, and Revolution (1945-1946) (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2013), pp. 383-441. 2 Nguyen Cong Luan, Nationalist in the Vietnam Wars: Memoirs of a Victim Turned Soldier (Bloomington & Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 2012). See also Francois Guillemot, “Autopsy of a Massacre: On a Political Purge in the Early Days of the Indochina War (Nam Bo 1947),” European Journal of East Asian Studies, vol. 9.2 (2010), pp. 225-265. 3 Alec G. Holcombe, “Socialist Transformation in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam” (Ph.D. diss., University of California, Berkeley, 2014). See also Alex-Thai D. Vo, “Nguyen Thi Nam and the Land Reform in North Vietnam, 1953,” Journal of Vietnamese Studies, vol.10, issue 1 (Winter 2015), pp. 1-62; “Forum: Memories of Land Reform,” Journal of Vietnamese Studies, vol. 2, issue 2 (Summer 2007), pp. 231-297; Peter Zinoman, “Nhan Van Giai Pham and Vietnamese ‘Reform Communism’ in the 1950s: A Revisionist Interpretation,” Journal of Cold War Studies, vol. 13, no. 1 (Winter 2011), pp.80-100; Kim N.B. Ninh, World Transformed: The Politics of Culture in Revolutionary Vietnam, 1945-1965 (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2002). 4 Stephen T. Hosmer, Viet Cong Repression and Its Implications for the Future (Santa Monica: RAND, 1970). See also Guenter Lewy, America in Vietnam (New York: Oxford University Press, 1978), p.88; Nha Ca, Mourning headband for Hue (Giai khan so cho Hue) (Saigon: Dat Lanh, 1971). 5 Huy Duc, “Chapter 2: Reeducation” (“Chuong 2: Cai tao”), in The Winning Side: I. Liberation (Ben thang cuoc: I. Giai phong) (Los Angeles: OsinBook, 2012), pp. 29-70. See also Nguyen Van Canh, Vietnam under Communism, 1975-1982 (Stanford, California: Hoover Institution Press, Stanford University, 1983).


government repression of dissident voices decreased, but when economic liberalization began to trigger calls for parallel reforms in the political sphere in the 1990s, the Party clamped down again.6 Repression has been carried out in part through a legal system that protects the Party’s absolute authority and denies basic civil rights to Vietnamese citizens. The Constitution categorically affirms the supreme leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam over both the state and the people. All basic rights including freedom of speech, opinion, press, assembly, and association are restricted. Independent unions are prohibited. Religious organizations must register with the government and operate under strict bureaucratic supervision. Socio-political groups disliked by the government can be easily shut down. The authorities use various means to curb political activism, including physical and psychological harassment, police surveillance, extra-judicial house arrest, and the application of pressure on employers, landlords, and family members of activists.7 State agents have been known to pressure spouses, parents, and siblings to persuade rights bloggers and activists to stop their activities. Police often subject rights campaigners to lengthy, bullying interrogation sessions. The authorities frequently detain rights advocates for long periods without access to legal counsel or family visits. The government also takes advantage of vaguely worded provisions in its penal codes to imprison peaceful political and religious dissidents. These laws target people for “aiming to overthrow the people’s administration” (penal code article 79, penalty up to death sentence); “undermining national unity policy” (article 87, penalty up to 15 years in prison); “conducting propaganda against the State” (article 88, penalty up to 20 years); and “disrupting security” (article 89, penalty up to 15 years). It also employs “supplemental punishments” which strip former prisoners convicted of “national security” crimes of certain rights, puts them on probation, and allows the confiscation of their property (article 92). Other articles in the penal code used to target peaceful dissenters include sanctions against “abusing rights of democracy and freedom to infringe upon the interests of the State” (article 258) or “disrupting public order” (article 245). Bogus

6 Robert Templer, Shadows and Wind: A View of Modern Vietnam (New York: Penguin Books, 1999). See also Human Rights Watch, Rural Unrest in Vietnam (New York: Human Rights Watch, 1997), https://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/1997/vietnm/. 7 “Vietnam: Stop Cyber Attacks Against Online Critics,” Human Rights Watch news release, May 26, 2010, https://www.hrw.org/news/2010/05/26/vietnam-stop-cyber-attacks-against-online-critics.


charges of tax evasion are also commonly used against political dissidents. In November 2015, the National Assembly passed revisions to the penal code. 8 Instead of repealing articles contrary to human rights standards, lawmakers introduced even harsher provisions, such as adding a new punishment to several of these articles that states, “The person who takes actions in preparation of committing this crime shall be subject to between one and five years of imprisonment.” As of March 2017, the revised penal code has not come into force. As of the time of writing there were approximately 110 known political prisoners in Vietnam. During 2016, at least 21 critics and activists were convicted for carrying out peaceful acts of free expression. Sentences ranged from three to 13 years in prison. Those imprisoned include prominent bloggers Nguyen Huu Vinh (also known as Ba Sam) and Nguyen Dinh Ngoc (also known as Nguyen Ngoc Gia), and activists Tran Anh Kim, Le Thanh Tung and Can Thi Theu.9 At least 14 other rights activists and bloggers, including the lawyer Nguyen Van Dai and fellow activist Le Thu Ha, bloggers Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, Ho Van Hai, and Tran Thi Nga were detained but had not yet faced trial as of March 2017.10

8 In November 2015, the National Assembly passed a revised penal code which includes even harsher provisions for some offenses, including offenses under article 109 (originally article 79); article 117 (originally article 88); and article 118 (originally article 89). Each has a clause that states, “The person who takes actions in preparation of committing this crime shall be subject to between one and five years of imprisonment.” However, the revisions were not in effect at time of writing. 9 “Vietnam: 7 Convicted in One Week,” Human Rights Watch news release, April 4, 2016, https://www.hrw.org/news/ 2016/04/04/vietnam-7-convicted-one-week; “Banned, Censored, Harassed, and Jailed,” Human Rights Watch news release, October 13, 2009, https://www.hrw.org/news/2009/10/13/banned-censored-harassed-and-jailed; “Vietnam: Drop Charges and Free Land Rights Activist,” Human Rights Watch news release, September 17, 2016, https://www.hrw.org/news/ 2016/09/17/vietnam-drop-charges-and-free-land-rights-activist. 10 “Vietnam: Hold Elections for Country’s Leaders,” Human Rights Watch news release, January 19, 2016, https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/01/19/vietnam-hold-elections-countrys-leaders; “Vietnam: Reform Criminal Law to Respect Rights,” Human Rights Watch news release, October 17, 2016, https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/10/17/vietnam-reform-criminal-law-respect-rights; “Vietnam: New Wave of Arrests of Critics,” Human Rights Watch news release, January 27, 2017, https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/01/27/vietnam-new-wave-arrests-critics.


II. Beating of Bloggers and Activists This chapter provides descriptions of 36 cases in which political bloggers and activists were physically assaulted by anonymous “thugs” during the 27-month period between January 2015 and April 2017. The accompanying photographs attest to the gravity of the assaults. With the exception of the case of Father Dang Huu Nam, there is no evidence in any of the cases that investigations were undertaken by the police, let alone that perpetrators were punished.

Attacks on Huynh Thanh Phat and Tran Hoang Phuc, April 13, 2017 Rights activist Huynh Thanh Phat, 18, and Tran Hoang Phuc, 23, were waiting at a bus stop in Ba Don (Quang Binh province) when a group of men in civilian clothes wearing surgical masks attacked them. The men used shirts to cover the faces of Huynh Thanh Phat and Tran Hoang Phuc, pushed them into a small van, and drove them away. During the ride, the men continuously beat Phat and Phuc. Phat recalled:

They beat us once about every 10 minutes while the car was moving. They hit us on our ears, temples, heads, ribs, backbone, and chest.11

Phuc wrote on his Facebook page that, “They slapped me, punched me in my ribs and thighs.”12 The two activists were taken to a deserted area in the forest where according to Phuc, the men “used bamboo sticks and belts to whip them.”13 The men took the activists’ wallets and cell phones and abandoned them there.14 This was not the first time Huynh Thanh Phat had been beaten. On May 10, 2016, he was detained by the police of Ward 1, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, and interrogated without legal counsel or any family representative present. Phat was 17 at the time. He was

11 “Two young social activists were kidnapped by ‘police thugs’ and brutally assaulted” (“Hai thanh nien hoat dong xa hoi tre tuoi bi ‘con an’ bat coc va hanh hung da man”), “Dan lam bao” (blog), April 21, 2017, http://danlambaovn.blogspot.com/ 2017/04/hai-thanh-nien-hoat-ong-xa-hoi-tre-tuoi.html (accessed April 24, 2017). 12 Tran Hoang Phuc, “How was I beaten” (“Minh bi dap nhu the nao”), posted on Tran Hoang Phuc’s Facebook page, April 14, 2017, https://www.facebook.com/phuctranbb123/posts/742207192623116?pnref=story (accessed April 24, 2017). 13 “Two young social activists were kidnapped by ‘police thugs’ and brutally assaulted.” 14 Ibid.


Tran Hoang Phuc (left) after being assaulted in Quang Binh on April 13, 2017. Photo taken from a YouTube video posted by Dan Lam Bao. © 2017 Private/Dan Lam Bao; Huynh Thanh Phat (right) after being assaulted in Ho Chi Minh City on May 10, 2016. © 2016 Private

questioned about his alleged involvement in pro-environment protests on May 1 and May 8.15 Phat was released around 11 p.m. On his way home, two men wearing surgical masks and in civilian clothing stopped Phat and attacked him.16 He suffered cuts over and under his left eye. In December 2015, Huynh Thanh Phat and other activists went to Hoa Thanh police station to demand the release of fellow activist Hoang Duc Binh, who had been detained earlier that day for distributing workers’ rights leaflets. Huynh Thanh Phat told a reporter at Radio Free Asia (RFA) what happened when they arrived at the Hoa Thanh police station:

Many traffic police, mobile police, members of the civilian defense force, and security agents in civilian clothing prevented us from entering. We tried to enter. They said: “We are common people.” Then they began to beat us freely in front of the police [in uniform]. These people started to beat me outside alley No.70 all the way to the nearby police station, about 50 meters away. Once I was inside [the police station], they handcuffed me,

15 Nguyen Tuan Khanh, “What do we share online?” (“Chia se tren mang de lam gi?”), post to “Nguyen Tuan Khanh” (blog), May 31, 2016, https://nhacsituankhanh.wordpress.com/2016/05/31/chia-se-tren-mang-de-lam-gi/ (accessed June 1, 2016). 16 Ibid. See also Nhat ky Yeu nuoc group’s Facebook page on May 11, 2016, https://www.facebook.com/nhatkyyeunuoc1/ photos/pcb.1372868659406544/1372866426073434/?type=3 (accessed June 6, 2016). Huynh Thanh Phat also posted a photo of himself after the beating to his Facebook page on May 12, 2016, https://www.facebook.com/photo.php? fbid=826334880804175&set=a.372803222824012.1073741827.100002830128087&type=3&theater (accessed June 6, 2016).


pushed me against a wall, and beat me again. There were between a dozen and 20 men, tall and big, who kept saying “I am a common person” and beat me without telling me the cause. I did not understand why the men in civilian clothing who called themselves “common people” had handcuffs to handcuff me while the police were watching. One police officer in uniform also joined them to beat me. I recall his name being Pham Khac Dong.17

Huynh Thanh Phat has also previously been detained by the police and assaulted on two other occasions. The first time was in January 2016 when he tried to attend a public commemoration of the naval battle between South Vietnam and China over the Paracel Islands in 1974. This event was organized by rights activists at the Tran Hung Dao monument in Ho Chi Minh City.18 Huynh Thanh Phat told a freelance reporter:

A number of agents in civilian clothing rushed over and struck me on my face and my body. They held me by my neck, pulled me into a car, and took me to a police station.19

The second attack was on May 1, 2016, when Phat was attending a pro-environment protest in Ho Chi Minh City.20 Several men snatched and threw his glasses onto the ground, dragged him by his hair into a car, and took him to the police station of Ward 7, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City.21 According to Phat, at the police station a man named Huynh Van Phuc beat him with his hand and with a book.22 On May 14, 2016, the police of Ho Chi Minh City held a press conference and accused Phat and other protesters with being

17 Tuong An, “Being brutally beaten for distributing leaflets which quoted the prime minister’s statement” (“Bi danh da man vi phat to roi trich loi cua thu tuong”), Radio Free Asia Vietnamese, December 26, 2015, http://www.rfa.org/vietnamese/ in_depth/vta122615-12262015153906.html (accessed February 5, 2016). See also Dan lam bao, “Many activists in Saigon were brutally beaten by the police” (“Nhieu nha hoat dong tai Sai Gon bi CA danh dap da man”), “Dan lam bao” (blog), December 27, 2015, http://danlambaovn.blogspot.com/2015/12/bi-bat-vi-trich-dan-loi-thu-tuong.html (accessed December 27, 2015). 18 Dan lam bao, “Saigon: Three rights activists were detained for participating in the Commemoration of the Paracel Islands’ navy battle” (“Sai Gon: Ba nha hoat dong nhan quyen bi bat khi di tham du Le Tuong niem Hai chien Hoang Sa”), post to “Dan lam bao” (blog), January 20, 2016, http://danlambaovn.blogspot.com/2016/01/sai-gon-ba-nha-hoat-ong-nhan-quyen-bi.html (accessed January 21, 2016). 19 Ibid. 20 For a detailed description of his May 1 arrest, see Huynh Thanh Phat’s Facebook post on May 2, 2016, “What happened at the police station?” (“Chuyen tai don?”): https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=821372987967031&set =a.372803222824012.1073741827.100002830128087&type=3&theater (accessed June 6, 2016). 21 Ibid. 22 Ibid.


“enticed” by the outlawed political party Viet Tan. The accusation was published widely in state media. After Phat called a reporter at Tuoi Tre newspaper to protest the publication of his name in the article, Tuoi Tre revised its article and removed Phat’s name.23

Attacks on Nguyen Trung Ton and Nguyen Viet Tu, February 27, 2017 On February 27, 2017, Nguyen Trung Ton and Nguyen Viet Tu were taking a bus from Quang Thing commune, Thanh Hoa province to Ba Don town, Quang Binh province. Upon arrival, a group of seven or eight young men in civilian clothing dragged them into a van. According to Nguyen Trung Ton:

The men took our belongings, stripped our clothes off, covered our heads with our jackets and beat us repeatedly with iron tubes. They did not tell us any reason. The van moved and they continued to beat us [in the van]. There was a driver and at least six other men. Three beat me and three beat Nguyen Viet Tu. I did not know which direction the van went, but it stopped at a deserted area. The men dragged us out of the van. I saw that it was by the side of a mountain, next to a cement drainage ditch. They continued to use iron tubes to beat me and used their shoes to crush my toes. They used iron sticks to strike my feet until they bled.24

23 Anh Ba Sam, “Journalist Vien Su of Tuoi Tre newspaper: Publish news provided by the police, but not responsible for its content” (“Nha bao Vien Su, bao Tuoi Tre: Dua tin cua Cong an, nhung khong chiu trach nhiem noi dung”), post to “Anh Ba Sam” (blog), May 15, 2016, https://anhbasam.wordpress.com/2016/05/15/8288-nha-bao-vien-su-bao-tuoi-tre-dua-tin-cua-cong-an-nen-khong-chiu-trach-nhiem-noi-dung/ (accessed June 1, 2016). See also N.V., “Ho Chi Minh City Police confirmed that ‘Viet Tan was behind the disturbance’” (“Cong an TP HCM khang dinh ‘Viet Tan to chuc gay roi’”), Tuoi tre, May 14, 2016, http://tuoitre.vn/tin/chinh-tri-xa-hoi/20160514/cong-an-tphcm-khang-dinh-viet-tan-to-chuc-gay-roi/1100962.html (accessed June 1, 2016). 24 Nguyen Trung Ton’s Facebook page, “Reporting the assault” (“Don trinh bao”), March 3, 2017, https://www.facebook.com/nguyentrung.ton.5/posts/713838685464545 (accessed March 3, 2017).

Nguyen Trung Ton and his feet after being assaulted in Quang Binh on February 27, 2017. © 2017 Private/ Brotherhood for Democracy


The men later abandoned Nguyen Trung Ton and Nguyen Viet Tu in a deserted forest in Ha Tinh province.25 Nguyen Trung Ton is a Protestant pastor and a blogger whose writing focuses on the lack of religious freedom in Vietnam and other rights issues. He has written about local land confiscation and corruption that has driven many peasants into landlessness. He has complained about the government wasting tax money on what he considered to be frivolous festivals instead of building infrastructure, schools or helping the poor. He has supported fellow religious activists including Hoa Hao Buddhist leader Le Quang Liem and Mennonite pastor Duong Kim Khai. In addition, Nguyen Trung Ton has written about police harassment and assaults against him and his family. In June 2010, his teenage son Nguyen Trung Trong Nghia was beaten on his way to school by five anonymous men after his father exposed police abuses. Nguyen Trung Ton was arrested in January 2011 for “conducting propaganda against the state” under article 88 of the penal code. He was sentenced to two years in prison. After completing his prison term in January 2013, he served two additional years on probation that restricted his movement to his residential commune. He currently serves as the representative for the Brotherhood for Democracy (Hoi Anh em Dan chu), a pro-democracy group whose founding member Nguyen Van Dai was arrested in December 2015.

Attack on Nguyen Thi Thai Lai, February 12, 2017 On February 12, 2017, pro-environment activist Nguyen Thi Thai Lai and a friend were leaving a restaurant in Van Thanh ward, Nha Trang. A group of four men in civilian clothing blocked their way and started beating her. She said:

25 “Pastor Nguyen Trung Ton was ‘assaulted by secret police’” (“MS Nguyen Trung Ton bi ‘mat vu cong an hanh hung’”), Voice of America, March 2, 2017, http://www.voatiengviet.com/a/muc-su-nguyen-trung-ton-mat-vu-cong-an-hanh-hung-chung-toi/3745817.html (accessed March 3, 2017). See also “Pastor Nguyen Trung Ton was kidnapped and beaten” (“Muc su Nguyen Trung Ton bi bat coc va danh dap”), Radio Free Asia, February 28, 2017, http://www.rfa.org/vietnamese/ vietnamnews/pastor-nguyentrungton-beaten-by-thug-02282017094332.html (accessed February 28, 2017).

Nguyen Trung Ton’s 15-year-old son Nguyen Trung Trong Nghia after being assaulted in Thanh Hoa on June 28, 2010. © 2010 Private/Hung Viet


Nguyen Thi Thai Lai after being assaulted in Nha Trang on February 12, 2017. © 2017 Private

Four young men, like four water buffalo, blocked our motorbike. They grabbed me by my neck and threw me on the ground. They beat me until I fainted. They kicked me in the face – look at my [bruised] face. They kicked me in the face. They kicked me and beat me until I fainted.26

Nguyen Thi Thai Lai suffered swollen lips, a severely bruised face, and a bruised arm. She reported the assault to the police headquarters of Van Thanh ward but no arrests were made.27 Nguyen Thi Thai Lai participated in protests against the Taiwanese steel company Formosa for causing an environmental disaster in April 2016. She also protested against China and

26 Nguyen Thi Thai Lai’s live video clip on Facebook, February 13, 2017, https://www.facebook.com/100008324985598/ videos/1853636721590476/ (accessed February 13, 2017). 27 “The person who spoke up about Formosa was assaulted” (“Nguoi len tieng vu Formosa bi hanh hung”), Radio Free Asia, February 13, 2017, http://www.rfa.org/vietnamese/vietnamnews/formosa-critic-beaten-02132017075819.html (accessed February 13, 2017).


voiced support for fellow activists including Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh (also known as Mother Mushroom), Tran Thi Nga, Can Thi Theu, and Nguyen Dang Minh Man, all of whom have been imprisoned for exercising their rights. Nguyen Thi Thai Lai was interrogated by the police in June 2016 for her alleged posts on Facebook about the late President Ho Chi Minh. In November 2016, she was questioned by the police regarding her connection with blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, who was arrested a month earlier for her blogging activities.

Attack on Nguyen Ho Nhat Thanh, December 26, 2016 In the afternoon of December 26, 2016, Nguyen Ho Nhat Thanh was sitting in a café in Ho Chi Minh City when a group of men in civilian clothing approached and assaulted him.28 They bent his arms behind his back and struck him in the head, chest, and back. They then covered his head with a jacket, dragged him to a car, and took him to the police headquarters of Tan My ward, district 7, Ho Chi Minh City, where they detained him for several hours.29 Nguyen Ho Nhat Thanh was released that night at about 11:30 p.m. While taking a taxi home, a group of men on motorbikes surrounded the taxi and forced it to stop. They dragged Nguyen Ho Nhat Thanh out of the taxi and beat him.30 He said:

They dragged me out [of the taxi] and beat me in the middle of the road. They beat me for about five minutes; many beat me at the same time, continuously. I lost consciousness for a couple of minutes.31

Nguyen Ho Nhat Thanh is a pro-democracy activist who has participated in protests against China and held informal classes to teach young people about civil society, human rights, and citizen rights. His wife, Trinh Kim Tien, is also a rights activist who has

28 An Ton, “A Vietnamese activist was assaulted after America passed Magnitsky law” (“Mot nha hoat dong VN bi hanh hung sau khi My thong qua luat Magnitsky”), Voice of America, December 29, 2016, http://www.voatiengviet.com/a/mot-nha-hoat-dong-vn-bi-hanh-hung-sau-khi-my-thong-qua-luat-magnitsky/3655590.html (accessed February 14, 2017). 29 Nguyen Ho Nhat Thanh’s Facebook page, “Violence cannot stop us” (Bao luc khong lam ta khuat phuc”), December 28, 2016, https://www.facebook.com/paulothanhnguyen/posts/1358012037576369 (accessed February 14, 2017). 30 Ibid. 31 An Ton, “A Vietnamese activist was assaulted after America passed Magnitsky law,” Voice of America. See also Nguyen Ho Nhat Thanh’s Facebook page, “A report and a denunciation” (“Don Trinh bao va To cao”), January 2, 2017, https://www.facebook.com/paulothanhnguyen/posts/1363297287047844?pnref=story (accessed Feb 14, 2017).


campaigned against police violence. Her father was killed by the police in 2011 due to a traffic violation.32 Both Nguyen Ho Nhat Thanh and Trinh Kim Tien have suffered numerous cases of police harassment and intimidation.

Attack on Nguyen Van Dung, December 23, 2016 On December 23, 2016, Nguyen Van Dung (also known as Dung Aduku) was driving a motorbike in Tinh Gia district, Thanh Hoa province when six men on three motorbikes approached him and knocked his motorbike over.33 The men wore civilian clothing and surgical masks. They tore his jacket off, covered his head and helmet and dragged him into a van.34 In the van, the men:

Stripped my pants and shoes off and struck me on my shoulders, chest, stomach, and thighs. They used belts to whip my thighs. They turned me face-down, removed my jacket, helmet, and glasses. They covered my head with my wool shirt, pulled my underwear down and hit me on my back, hip, behind and thigh. They used belts to whip me on my hip and behind. Then they turned me over, touched and felt my chest, chose a spot and hit me again and again on that spot, which caused me great pain and difficulty breathing.35

32 For more on the death of Trinh Kim Tien’s father Trinh Xuan Tung at the hands of police, see Human Rights Watch report Public Insecurity: Death in Custody and Police Brutality in Vietnam, (New York: Human Rights Watch, 2014), https://www.hrw.org/report/2014/09/16/public-insecurity/deaths-custody-and-police-brutality-vietnam. 33 Han Giang, “Police robbed and brutally assaulted activist Nguyen Van Dung” (“Cong an cuop tai san va hanh hung da man nha hoat dong Nguyen Van Dung”), Viet Nam Thoi Bao, December 29, 2016, http://www.ijavn.org/2016/12/vntb-cong-cuop-tai-san-va-hanh-hung-da_29.html (accessed March 3, 2017). 34 Ibid. 35 Nguyen Van Dung, “A report on the assault I suffered on December 23, 2016” (“Bao cao vu viec toi bi dan ap ngay 23/12/2016”), Nguyen Van Dung’s Facebook page, December 31, 2016, https://www.facebook.com/aduku.uganda/posts/ 229188490863040 (accessed March 3, 2017).

Nguyen Van Dung (also known as Dung Aduku) after being assaulted in Thanh Hoa on December 23, 2016. © 2016 Private/Viet Nam Thoi Bao


The men later abandoned Nguyen Van Dung in a small pond with his wool shirt still covering his head.36 Nguyen Van Dung suffered many bruises all over his body. He reported the assault to the nearby police of Hai Binh commune, Tinh Gia district, Thanh Hoa province. Nguyen Van Dung is a member of Brotherhood for Democracy (Hoi Anh em Dan chu). He has participated in anti-China protests and went to near the courts during the trials of fellow activists to show solidarity.

Attack on Truong Minh Huong, December 22, 2016 On December 22, 2016, Truong Minh Huong went to have lunch with a group of land rights petitioners in the town of Phu Ly, Ha Nam province. When he was taking a taxi with human rights lawyer Ha Huy Son to Hanoi, traffic police stopped the taxi and forced them out.37 Men in civilian clothing punched and kicked Truong Minh Huong in front of lawyer Ha Huy Son and two police officers. According to Ha Huy Son:

Six or seven security agents in civilian clothing rushed in, kicked Huong and punched him in the face. He fell down by the side of the road, witnessed by two traffic police officers who stopped our taxi. I tried to stop them to no avail, and asked the traffic police officers to protect citizens and to stop the men from beating Huong. The traffic police officers ignored me and left.38

36 Ibid. See also Nguyen Nguyen, “Activist Dung Aduku was robbed and assaulted by police thugs” (“Nha hoat dong Dung Aduku bi con an danh dap cuop tai san”), Saigon Broadcasting Television Network, December 23, 2016, http://www.sbtn.tv/nha-hoat-dong-dung-aduku-bi-con-an-danh-dap-cuop-tai-san/ (accessed March 3, 2017). 37 Ha Huy Son’s Facebook page, December 22, 2016, https://www.facebook.com/huyson.ha.3/posts/ 1012667732212251?pnref=story (accessed February 15, 2017). 38 Ibid.

Truong Minh Huong after being assaulted in Ha Nam on December 22, 2016. © 2016 Private


Truong Minh Huong told a reporter:

The people who lived in the neighborhood told me that one of the men who beat and injured me was a police officer named Long who works at the police branch of Phu Ly, Ha Nam province.39

Truong Minh Huong became a land rights activist in 2007 after his family land was confiscated by the local government for a tourist project. He and his family have faced many examples of intimidation, harassment, and physical assault. In December 2014, three men in civilian clothing stopped him on the street, beat and injured him.40 In September 2015, dozens of men in civilian clothing threw rocks into his house and broke his windows.41

Attack on Nguyen Cong Huan, December 2, 2016 On December 2, 2016, Nguyen Cong Huan (also known as Nguyen Thanh Huan) was taking a bus from Yen Thanh to Vinh in Nghe An province to attend the wedding party of former political prisoner Nguyen Dinh Cuong.42 A group of men in civilian clothing dragged him out of the bus to the side of the road and beat him.43 The men kicked his face, head, and body until he was unconscious.44 They dragged him into a van, drove to a deserted area, took his

39 Nguyen Nguyen, “Activist Trinh Van Huong was assaulted by the police of Ha Nam” (“Nha hoat dong Trinh Van Huong bi cong an Ha Nam hanh hung”), Saigon Broadcasting Television Network, December 22, 2016, http://www.sbtn.tv/nha-hoat-dong-trinh-van-huong-bi-cong-an-ha-nam-hanh-hung/ (accessed Feb 25, 2017). 40 Nguyen Tuong Thuy, “Mr. Truong Van Huong was brutally beaten” (“Ong Truong Van Huong bi danh dap da man”), post to “Nguyen Tuong Thuy” (blog), December 11, 2014, https://nguyentuongthuy2012.wordpress.com/2014/12/11/ong-truong-van-huong-bi-danh-dap-da-man/ (accessed Feb 25, 2017). 41 Truong Minh Huong’s Facebook page, “Is the government under the pretense of thugs and Mafia” (“Co phai con do, xa hoi den dang doi lot chinh quyen”), October 7, 2015, https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=167572 6136002099&id=100006941862550 (accessed Feb 25, 2017). See also Nguyen Tuong Thuy, “Mr. Truong Minh Huong continues to be terrorized” (“Ong Truong Minh Huong tiep tuc bi khung bo”), Radio Free Asia, September 24, 2015, http://www.rfavietnam.com/node/2811 (accessed Feb 25, 2017). 42 Nguyen Nguyen, “Nghe An police thugs assaulted rights activist Nguyen Thanh Huan” (“Con an Nghe An hanh hung nha hoat dong Nguyen Thanh Huan”), Saigon Broadcasting Television Network, December 2, 2016, http://www.sbtn.tv/con-an-nghe-an-hanh-hung-nha-hoat-dong-nguyen-thanh-huan/ (accessed Feb 16, 2017). 43 Ibid. See also Le Van Son’s Facebook page, December 2, 2016, “SOS: Nghe An police kidnapped and beat a citizen, causing serious injuries” (“SOS: Cong an Nghe An bat coc va danh dan gay thuong tich nghiem trong”), https://www.facebook.com/paulusleson.89/posts/377438555937673 (accessed Feb 16, 2017). 44 Ibid.


Nguyen Cong Huan after being assaulted in Nghe An on December 2, 2016. © 2016 Private

cell phone and other belongings, and left him by the side of the road.45 He suffered many bruises on his face and body. Nguyen Cong Huan told a reporter:

They whipped me repeatedly with their belts. One man kicked me on my face and ribs. They struck my chest and on other parts of my body.46

Nguyen Cong Huan is a human rights activist who protested against the Taiwanese steel company Formosa for causing an environmental disaster in April 2016. He has also voiced support for pro-democracy fellow activists and political prisoners.

Attack on Dinh Hong Quyen, December 2, 2016 Dinh Hong Quyen is a human rights activist who protested against the Taiwanese steel company Formosa for causing an environmental disaster in April 2016. Dinh Hong Quyen went to the area outside the People’s Court of Hanoi to show support for land rights activist Can Thi Theu during her appeal trial on November 30, 2016.47

45 Ibid. See also “Another activist was assaulted” (“Them mot nha hoat dong bi hanh hung”), Radio Free Asia, December 2, 2016, http://www.rfa.org/vietnamese/vietnamnews/activist-and-facebooker-attacked-12022016091909.html (accessed Feb 16, 2017). 46 “Nghe An police brutally beat a citizen, robbed his belongings, and stripped his clothes” (“Cong an Nghe An danh dan tan bao, cuop tai san, lot quan ao”), Tin mung cho nguoi ngheo, December 2, 2016, http://www.tinmungchonguoingheo.com/ blog/2016/12/02/cong-an-nghe-an-danh-dan-tan-bao-cuop-tai-san-lot-quan-ao/ (accessed Feb 16, 2017). 47 “Vietnam: Drop Charges and Free Land Rights Activist,” Human Rights Watch news release, September 17, 2016, https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/09/17/vietnam-drop-charges-and-free-land-rights-activist.


Two days later, on December 2, 2016, Dinh Hong Quyen was attacked in Yen Nghia ward (Ha Dong) by a group of men in civilian clothing. He suffered injuries to his nose.48

Attacks on To Oanh, July 13, 2016 and April 24, 2015 A retired teacher, To Oanh became a pro-democracy blogger and participant in anti-China and pro-environment protests.49 He gave testimony on freedom of the press in Vietnam to the US House of Representatives in April 2014.50 Upon returning to Vietnam, he was detained at Noi Bai airport and interrogated for many hours. On the morning of July 13, 2016, blogger To Oanh and his wife Hoang Thi Nhu Hoa were driving a motorbike when a man in civilian clothing followed them home.51 When they were about 60km from their house in Bac Giang province, the man cut in front of To Oanh’s motorbike, forcing him to turn sharply and crash.52 After the crash, the man drove away. According to To Oanh’s wife, he suffered “blood clots in his head and broken cheek

48 See “Hanoi Police Suspected of Beating Activist, Attacking Private Residence of Blogger with Dirty Mess,” Defend the Defenders, news release, December 3, 2016, http://www.vietnamhumanrightsdefenders.net/2016/12/03/hanoi-police-allegedly-beat-activist-attack-private-residence-of-blogger-with-dirty-mess/ (accessed January 21, 2017). See also Vu Hang’s Facebook page, December 2, 2016, https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=231320413966733&id= 100012663270142 (accessed Jan 21, 2017). 49 Thanh Lan, “Blogger To Oanh was attacked by ‘thugs’” (“Blogger To Oanh bi ‘con do’ tan cong”), Saigon Broadcasting Television Network, April 24, 2015, http://www.sbtn.tv/vi/tin-viet-nam/blogger-oanh-bi-con-do-tan-cong.html (accessed April 27, 2015). 50 Chan Nhu, “A conversation with blogger Nguyen T. Thuy and freelance journalist To Oanh” (“Buoi tro chuyen voi blogger Nguyen T. Thuy va nha bao tu do To Oanh”), Radio Free Asia Vietnamese, May 9, 2014, http://www.rfa.org/vietnamese/in_depth/interw-to-oanh-tthuy-05092014111422.html (accessed April 27, 2015). 51 Hoa Ai, “We do not want to become slaves for the Chinese enemy” (“Chung toi khong muon lam no le cho Han tac”), Radio Free Asia Vietnamese, July 15, 2016, http://www.rfa.org/vietnamese/in_depth/we-don-t-want-to-be-cn-s-slaves-ha-07152016134246.html (accessed July 15, 2016). 52 Ibid. See also Han Giang, “Which man ‘in civilian clothing’ had brutally attacked civil activist To Oanh?” (“Ke ‘mac thuong phuc’ nao tan cong da man nha hoat dong dan su To Oanh?”), Viet Nam Thoi bao, July 15, 2016, http://www.ijavn.org/2016/07/vntb-ke-mac-thuong-phuc-nao-tan-cong-da.html (accessed July 16, 2016).

Dinh Hong Quyen after being assaulted in Ha Dong on December 2, 2016. © 2016 Private


To Oanh after being assaulted in Bac Giang on July 13, 2016. © 2016 Private

bones” as well as many bruises.53 He was taken to the hospital in Bac Giang province for treatment.54 His wife suffered a minor cut. This was not the first time To Oanh has been attacked. On April 24, 2015, he was driving a motorbike to visit villagers of Xuan Quan commune in Van Giang district, Hung Yen province, when an unknown man crashed a motorbike into him and then drove away. To Oanh was injured on his right elbow and knee.55 He had to abort his trip.

Attacks on La Viet Dung, July 10, 2016 and May 7, 2016 On the afternoon of July 10, 2016, La Viet Dung attended a soccer game and then joined a gathering with other members of the No-U Football Club in Hanoi.56 On the way home, he was attacked by three or four men in civilian clothing who struck him with a brick and seriously fractured his skull.57 La Viet Dung was taken to the hospital for emergency treatment.58

53 Ibid. See also Le Lan’s Facebook page, July 14, 2016, https://www.facebook.com/manhhung.bui.1232/posts/ 1769416433274686?pnref=story (accessed July 14, 2016). 54 Ibid. 55 Chau Van Thi, “A person who testified before the US Congress about Freedom of press was attacked” (“Nguoi tung tham gia Dieu tran ve Tu do bao chi tai Hoa Ky bi tan cong”), Dan luan, April 24, 2015, https://www.danluan.org/tin-tuc/20150424/nguoi-tung-tham-gia-dieu-tran-ve-tu-do-bao-chi-tai-hoa-ky-bi-tan-cong (accessed April 27, 2015). 56 Dao Tien Thi’s Facebook page, “La Viet Dung is loved and respected by his comrades and country fellows” (“La Viet Dung trong tinh yeu thuong, cam phuc cua dong chi, dong bao”), reposted to Bauxite Vietnam, July 12, 2016, http://boxitvn.blogspot.com/2016/07/la-viet-dung-trong-tinh-yeu-thuong-cam.html (accessed August 3, 2016). 57 Ibid. See also “Thugs threw rocks and broke La Viet Dung’s head” (“Con do nem da vo dau ong La Viet Dung”), “Dan lam bao” July 11, 2016, http://danlambaovn.blogspot.com/2016/07/con-o-nem-vo-au-anh-la-viet-dung.html (accessed August 3, 2016). 58 Ibid. See also Nguyen Thien Nhan, “Activist La Viet Dung is barbarously attacked by the police again” (“Nha hoat dong La Viet Dung lai bi cong an tan cong man ro”), Viet Nam Thoi bao, July 11, 2016, http://www.ijavn.org/2016/07/vntb-nha-hoat-ong-la-viet-dung-lai-bi.html (accessed August 3, 2016).


La Viet Dung after being assaulted in Hanoi on July 10, 2016. © 2016 Private/Dan Lam Bao

La Viet Dung had also been attacked two months earlier. On May 7, 2016, men threw rocks and broke the front window of his car in an attempt to intimidate him and dissuade him from participating in a pro-environment protest the next day.59 He was then accused on national television of being a subversive reactionary.60 On May 29, 2016, La Viet Dung was briefly detained by the police for staging a silent protest in public demanding that the government publish the results of an investigation into mass fish deaths in central Vietnam, which had caused a major health scare for consumers of fish.61 Members of the No-U Football Club, established in October 2011 as an informal soccer club, meet weekly to play soccer, discuss politics, support human rights activists, and participate

59 La Viet Dung’s Facebook page, May 7, 2016, https://www.facebook.com/lavietdung/posts/10154164882512328 (accessed August 3, 2016). 60 La Viet Dung’s Facebook page, “A thank you note” (“Thu cam on”), May 15, 2016, https://www.facebook.com/lavietdung/posts/10154184444592328 (accessed August 3, 2016). 61 “Arrested for sit-in pro-environment protest” (“Bi bat vi toa khang bao ve moi truong”), post to “Dan lam bao” (blog), May 29, 2016, http://danlambaovn.blogspot.com/2016/05/bi-bat-vi-toa-khang-bao-ve-moi-truong.html (accessed August 3, 2016).


in social activities, including anti-China and pro-environment protests.62 The club has been placed under close police surveillance and constant harassment. During a party to commemorate the club’s fourth anniversary in October 2015 at a restaurant in Hanoi, men in civilian clothing broke in, destroyed tables and chairs, and assaulted participants.63

Attacks on Do Duc Hop, June 25, 2016 and May 8, 2016 On June 25, 2016, rights activist Do Duc Hop and his wife Tran Thi Thuoc drove a motorbike home after attending the wedding of fellow activist Huynh Cong Thuan. A group of men in civilian clothing stopped the couple and assaulted Do Duc Hop. One man used a knife to threaten Do Duc Hop’s wife and told her not to call for help.64 He suffered bruises on his forehead and in the corner of his right eye. This was not the first time Do Duc Hop was attacked. On May 8, 2016, he was assaulted outside the police station of Ben Nghe ward,

62 Simon Denyer, “Vietnamese soccer team’s goal isn’t on the field; it’s in politics,” Washington Post, December 20, 2015, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/a-soccer-team-in-vietnam-doubles-as-a-club-for-dissidents/2015/12/19/4bed4fef-4eab-4940-841d-fcecec107440_story.html (accessed August 3, 2016). 63 Luu Van Minh, “Police and thugs attacked No-U’s birthday party” (“Cong an va con do tan cong sinh nhat No-U”). Originally posted on Luu Van Minh’s Facebook page, reposted by Dan luan, October 31, 2015, https://www.danluan.org/tin-tuc/20151030/luu-van-minh-con-do-tan-cong-sinh-nhat-no-u (accessed August 3, 2016). 64 Do Duc Hop’s live videos on his Facebook page, June 25, 2016, https://www.facebook.com/ tung.do.581/videos/1038091966276869/ (accessed June 25, 2016). See also Dung Mai’s Facebook page, June 26, 2016,

Do Duc Hop after being attacked in Ho Chi Minh City on May 8, 2016. © 2016 Private

Do Duc Hop after being attacked in Ho Chi Minh City on June 25, 2016. © 2016 Private


District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. That morning agents in civilian clothing blocked his house to prevent him from joining a pro-environment protest during which a number of protesters were detained. In the afternoon, Do Duc Hop went to the police station of Ben Nghe ward to show solidarity with detained fellow activists. Upon seeing a protester taken away in a car outside the police station, he took a couple of photos. About six or seven men in civilian clothing rushed to beat him and dragged him into the police station. In a video clip published by Dan Lam Bao, Do Duc Hop said that he “suffered many punches and kicks.”65 He said:

They punched and kicked me, on my face and my body; they bent my wrists and hit me directly on my lips. I tried to cover my face but they bent my hands so they could punch me.… Another person kicked me in my ribs.66

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=259092104468148&id=100011020819260%20 (accessed June 26, 2016). 65 Dan Lam Bao, “Being tortured by the police for bringing medicine to protesters” (“Bi cong an tra tan vi mang thuoc chua thuong cho nguoi bieu tinh”), post to “Dan lam bao” (blog), May 10, 2016, http://danlambaovn.blogspot.com/2016/05/bi-ca-tra-tan-vi-mang-thuoc-chua-thuong.html (accessed May 10, 2016). 66 Ibid. See also Nhat ky Yeu nuoc’s Facebook page, May 8, 2016, https://www.facebook.com/nhatkyyeunuoc1/ photos/a.551760078184077.148040.114731331886956/1371179142908829/?type=3&theater (accessed May 8, 2016).

Do Duc Hop after being attacked in Ho Chi Minh City on May 8, 2016. © 2016 Private


Do Duc Hop was released later the same evening. He suffered many bruises. On May 1, 2016, men in civilian clothes detained and beat Do Duc Hop, his fellow activist Duong Thi Tan, former political prisoners Huynh Anh Tu and Pham Thanh Nghien, to prevent them from participating in a pro-environment protest.

Attack on Mai Thi Dung, June 22, 2016 On the morning of June 22, 2016, police prevented former political prisoner Mai Thi Dung from attending the anniversary of the founding of Hoa Hao Buddhism at Quang Minh Tu, an independent Hoa Hao Buddhist pagoda in Cho Moi district, An Giang province. According to Mai Thi Dung’s husband Vo Van Buu, also a former political prisoner, Mai Thi Dung and their daughter Vo Thi Tuyet Linh left their house in Cho Moi district for Quang Minh Tu pagoda, but dozens of men stopped them on their way and forced them to turn back to their house.67

“Four or five persons surrounded and beat my wife. Her lips are swollen. They also used helmets to hit her from behind.”68

Mai Thi Dung is a Hoa Hao Buddhist activist who has joined many protests against the repression of religious groups that are not approved by the government. During the crackdown on independent Hoa Hao Buddhist groups in 2005, the government convicted her of disrupting public order under article 245 of the penal code and sentenced her to five years in prison. In 2007, while she was in prison, the People’s Court of Vinh Long tried her for involvement in a protest by independent Hoa Hao Buddhist groups in 2001 and sentenced her to an additional six years in prison, again for violating article 245. In April 2015, under international and domestic pressure, she was released. Her husband Vo Van Buu was also arrested in 2005 and sentenced to seven years in prison. He completed his prison term in August 2012. Both husband and wife are under constant police surveillance.

67 Gia Minh, “The government again prevented Hoa Hao Buddhist followers to commemorate” (“Tin do Phat giao Hoa Hao lai bi chinh quyen ngan chan to chuc le”), Radio Free Asia Vietnamese, June 22, 2016, http://www.rfa.org/vietnamese/ in_depth/non-state-hoa-hao-buddhists-beaten-on-anniversary-gm-06222016082134.html (accessed June 22, 2016). 68 Ibid.


Attacks on Nguyen Van Thanh, June 5, 2016 and August 4, 2015 On the morning of June 5, 2016, Nguyen Van Thanh was in a café outside the Economic University of Da Nang when an unknown young man came and snatched the bag in which he kept printed copies of his political writings.69 The assailant punched him in the face. A little while later, a large group of police in uniform, security agents in civilian clothing, and members of the civilian defense force arrived and escorted Nguyen Van Thanh to the police station of My An ward, Da Nang, where he was detained for a couple of hours.70 At the police station, he did not receive any medical treatment. Instead, the police interrogated him about the contents of his political writing.71 After being released, he sought treatment at the Da Nang Hospital for multiple bruises on his face.72 This was not the first time Nguyen Van Thanh has been attacked. On August 4, 2015, he was driving his motorbike in Khue My ward, Da Nang, when five unknown men attacked

69 Nguyen Van Thanh’s Facebook page, “Video in the police station” (“Video trong don cong an”), June 5, 2016, https://www.facebook.com/nguyenvanthanhvn12/videos/vb.100003945036031/741199259354902/?type=2&theater (accessed June 5, 2016). See also a photo of Nguyen Van Thanh at the Da Nang hospital that he posted on his Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=741249742683187&set=a.272507426224090.107374 1828.100003945036031&type=3&theater (accessed June 5, 2016). 70 Ibid. 71 “Nguyen Van Thanh talked about being beaten when he distributed leaflets of his writing ‘A tree with many worms’” (“Nguyen Van Thanh ke chuyen bi danh khi phat to roi bai viet ‘Cay lam sau’”), June 6, 2016, video clip, YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rq7Oc3zfPxw (accessed September 19, 2016). 72 Ibid.

Nguyen Van Thanh after being assaulted in Da Nang on June 5, 2016. © 2016 Private


him. The attackers grabbed his collar and punched and kicked him repeatedly.73 Nguyen Van Thanh reported the attack to the police of Khue My ward.74 Nguyen Van Thanh is a chemical engineer who has lived in Da Nang since 2002. In 2010, he began to blog critical commentaries on social and political issues. He also published his writing on independent websites such as Bauxite Vietnam and Dien dan Xa hoi Dan su (Social Civilian Forum). Nguyen Van Thanh suffers constant harassment and intimidation, including household registration checks at nights, intimidation of his family members in order to convince him to stop his activism, and even pressure on his landlord to evict him. He has been assaulted four other times, on December 10, 12, and 18, 2013, and on February 16, 2014.

Threats and Attacks on Hoa Hao Buddhists, June 2-3, 2016 On June 2, 2016, Hoa Hao Buddhist followers Nguyen Van Dien and Nguyen Van Tho were on their way home after visiting former religious prisoner Nguyen Van Lia at his house in Cho Moi district, An Giang province, when unknown men stopped and threatened to kill them.75

73 An Thien, “Thugs sponsored by police attacked blogger Nguyen Van Thanh the 5th time” (“Cong an bao ke con do tan cong blogger Nguyen Van Thanh lan thu 5”), Saigon Broadcasting Television Network, August 7, 2015, http://www.sbtn.tv/vi/tin-viet-nam/cong-bao-ke-con-do-tan-cong-blogger-nguyen-van-thanh-lan-thu-5.html (accessed June 5, 2016). 74 Nguyen Van Thanh, “Writing a report to the police of Khue My ward” (“Viet don trinh bao cong an phuong Khue My”), post to “Nguyen Van Thanh” (blog), August 7, 2015, http://www.thanhblog.org/2015/08/viet-on-trinh-bao-cong-phuong-khue-my.html (accessed May 22, 2016). 75 Paul Minh Nhat, “Members of the Central Committee of the Pure Hoa Hao Buddhist Church were assaulted and intimidated” (“Cac thanh vien Trung uong GHPGHHTT bi hanh hung va de doa”), Tin mung cho nguoi ngheo, June 3, 2016, http://www.tinmungchonguoingheo.com/blog/2016/06/03/cac-thanh-vien-trung-uong-ghpghhtt-bi-hanh-hung-va-de-doa/ (accessed June 4, 2016).

Nguyen Van Thanh after being assaulted in Da Nang on August 4, 2015. © 2015 Private/Thanh’s Blog


That night and in the early morning of June 3, a different group of unknown men threw rotten shrimp paste into the house of Nguyen Ngoc Tan and rocks into the house of Nguyen Van Hau in Vinh Long province.76 Both are independent Hoa Hao Buddhist followers. Communist antipathy towards the Hoa Hao dates from the first Indochina war (1946-1954) when many members of the Hoa Hao community opposed the communist-led Viet Minh after the spiritual leader of the religion, Huynh Phu So, was assassinated by communist forces.77 During the second Indochina war (1954-1975), Hoa Hao zones in the western Mekong delta continued to resist the Viet Cong insurgency.78 Hostility between the Hoa Hao community and the Communist Party continued after the end of the war in 1975. In 1999, the Vietnamese government recognized Hoa Hao Buddhism as a religion.79 However, many followers refused to join the state-sanctioned Hoa Hao Buddhist Church and are subject to intrusive surveillance and repression.80

Attack on Nguyen Phuong, May 19, 2016 On the evening of May 19, 2016, rights activist Nguyen Phuong left his house on motorbike in Chau Duc district in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province for Ho Chi Minh City.81 According to Nguyen Phuong:

When I left my house, two security agents followed me [on a motorbike]. At the area of Nghia Thanh commune, they drove right next to me. The person

in the back used his helmet to hit me. I was able to avoid the blow. I turned back to flee and called my two younger brothers to escort me back to Ba Ria

76 Ibid. 77 Christopher Goscha, The Penguin History of Modern Vietnam. (New York: Penguin Books, 2016), p.224. 78 Alexander B. Woodside, Community and Revolution in Modern Vietnam. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1976), p.278. 79 The Government Committee for Religious Affairs. “Hoa Hao Buddhism – Activities and Development” (“Dao Phat giao Hoa Hao – Hoat dong va phat trien”), http://btgcp.gov.vn/Plus.aspx/vi/News/38/0/162/0/1071/Dao_Phat_giao_Hoa_ Hao_Hoat_dong_va_phat_trien (accessed September 21, 2016). 80 “Vietnam: Release Hoa Hao Buddhist Activist,” Human Rights Watch news release, December 12, 2011, https://www.hrw.org/news/2011/12/12/vietnam-release-hoa-hao-buddhist-activist. 81 Dan luan’s Facebook page, “A pro-environment activist accused the police of attacking him” (“Nguoi hoat dong vi moi truong cao buoc bi an ninh tan cong”), May 19, 2016, https://www.facebook.com/danluan.org/photos/ a.403967392985945.89162.401392156576802/1012848762097802/?type=3&theater (accessed May 20, 2016).


where we encountered these two thugs again. This time, there were traffic police accompanying them. I was beaten in front of traffic police, witnessed by many bystanders, but the traffic police did nothing to stop them.82

Police then detained Nguyen Phuong and escorted him to the police headquarters of Chau Duc district, Ba Ria-Vung Tau province.83 He was released a few hours later. Nguyen Phuong is a rights activist who participated in pro-environment protests in Ho Chi

82 Ibid. See also Nguyen Phuong’s Facebook page, May 19, 2016, https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=5450647 75666593&set=a.196901990482875.1073741830.100004892255580&type=3&theater (accessed May 20, 2016). 83 Ibid. See also a video account narrated by rights activist Nguyen Huu Tinh, posted on Nguyen Phuong’s Facebook page, May 20, 2016, https://www.facebook.com/phuong.duy.3386/videos/vb.100004892255580/545335308972873/ ?type=2&theater (accessed May 20, 2016).

Nguyen Phuong after being assaulted on May 19, 2016, in Ba Ria – Vung Tau. © 2016 Private


Minh City in May 2016. He has openly supported political prisoners Tran Huynh Duy Thuc84 and Can Thi Theu,85 and boycotted the national election in May 2016.86

Attacks on Tran Thi Hong, March 30, April 14, and May 13, 2016 On March 30, 2016, Tran Thi Hong planned to attend a meeting with US Ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom David Saperstein and other staff from the US Embassy and Consulate to talk about the situation of the “Lutheran church in the highlands” and “the repression of ethnic prisoners of conscience.”87 On her way to the hotel where the meeting was to be held, men in civilian clothing stopped her motorbike and asked her to go to the police station. When she refused to comply, the men twisted her arms, grabbed her hair, and dragged her.88 They then took away her motorbike and sent her home in a taxi. Upon hearing that Tran Thi Hong had been prevented from attending the meeting, Ambassador Saperstein and other members of the US delegation went to her house to meet her.89 On April 14, the authorities summoned Tran Thi Hong to the headquarters of the People’s Committee of Hoa Lu ward in the city of Pleiku, Gia Lai province, to question her about her meeting with the US delegation.90 When she refused to go, four persons carried her by her legs and arms and took her to the headquarters by car. They carried her to a room on the third floor where a woman slapped her.91 According to Ms. Hong, two women dragged her

84 See Nguyen Phuong’s Facebook page, May 23, 2016, https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=546706365502434 &set=a.196901990482875.1073741830.100004892255580&type=3&theater (accessed September 21, 2016). 85 See Nguyen Phuong’s Facebook page, September 20, 2016, https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid= 603677476471989&set=a.102659029907172.5194.100004892255580&type=3&theater (accessed September 21, 2016). 86 See Nguyen Phuong’s Facebook page, May 21, 2016, https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid= 545934468912957&set=a.196901990482875.1073741830.100004892255580&type=3&theater (accessed September 21, 2016). 87 Huyen Trang, “Security agents assaulted Pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh’s wife” (“An ninh hanh hung phu nhan Muc su Nguyen Cong Chinh”), Tin mung cho nguoi ngheo, March 31, 2016, http://www.tinmungchonguoingheo.com/blog/2016/03/31/an-ninh-hanh-hung-phu-nhan-muc-su-nguyen-cong-chinh/ (accessed March 31, 2016). For more information on this incident, see “Pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh’s wife was prevented from meeting with an US State Department’s delegation” (“Vo MS Nguyen Cong Chinh bi ngan can gap phai doan cua Bo Ngoai giao Hoa Ky”), Radio Free Asia Vietnamese, April 1, 2016, http://www.rfa.org/vietnamese/vietnamnews/pastor-nguyencongchinh-wife-harrasted-04012016092351.html (accessed April 2, 2016). 88 Ibid. 89 Ibid. 90 Mac Lam, “Pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh’s wife was assaulted” (“Vo MS Nguyen Cong Chinh bi hanh hung”), Radio Free Asia Vietnamese, April 14, 2016, http://www.rfa.org/vietnamese/in_depth/wife-of-dissident-pastor-attacked-after-an-us-delegate-visiting-her-ml-04142016145951.html (accessed April 16, 2016). 91 Ibid.


by her hair. They trampled on her feet and punched her.92 She was detained for a couple of hours and then released. On May 11, 12, 13 and 14, 2016, authorities repeatedly went to Ms. Hong’s house and forced her to go to the headquarters to question her about the March 30 meeting again. She says that on May 13 she was assaulted at Hoa Lu ward police headquarters.93 Her family has long suffered official repression. Her husband, Pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh, was arrested in April 2011 and charged with “undermining national great unity” under article 87 of the penal code. He is currently serving an 11-year prison sentence. He reportedly has suffered numerous rights violations in prison, including being beaten by prison inmates with the knowledge of prison staff.

Attack on Nguyen Van The, May 7, 2016 Father Nguyen Van The of the Dong Chuong parish, Bac Ninh diocese, was on his way from Hop Hoa commune to Son Duong town in Son Duong district, Tuyen Quang province, on May 7, 2016, when he was attacked by four men wearing surgical masks and helmets. Father Nguyen Van Phong told RFA that these men “hit [Father The] on his face, head, arms, legs, and body.”94 In an interview on the Vietnamese website Tin mung cho nguoi ngheo (Good News for the Poor), Father Nguyen Van The told a reporter that the men “beat me repeatedly.”95 Father The thought that the cause of the beating might be because he “intervened in the illegal exploitation of sand from Lo river and condemned the authorities of Son Duong district for intentionally seizing the land of the parish.”96

92 Ibid. 93 Tran Thi Hong’s Facebook page, “A report of being harassed for four consecutive days by the Pleiku police” (“Tuong trinh su viec bi cong an Pleiku sach nhieu 4 ngay lien tiep”), reposted on Father Dinh Huu Thoai’s Facebook page on May 15, 2016, https://www.facebook.com/dinh.h.thoai/posts/10204879402905402?pnref=story (accessed May 15, 2016). See also Gia Minh, “Pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh’s wife was summoned by the police for meeting with a US delegation” (“Vo cua MS Nguyen Cong Chinh bi cong an moi vi tiep xuc phai doan My”), Radio Free Asia Vietnamese, May 12, 2016, http://www.rfa.org/ vietnamese/in_depth/feeble-wife-of-jailed-pastor-interrogated-due-meet-us-delegates-gm-05122016075105.html (accessed May 15, 2016). 94 “A Catholic priest was attacked by thugs” (“Mot linh muc bi con do tan cong”), Radio Free Asia Vietnamese, May 9, 2016, http://www.rfa.org/vietnamese/in_depth/catholic-priest-brutally-beaten-by-thugs-05092016083309.html (accessed May 10, 2016). 95 Paul Minh Nhat, “Father Giuse Nguyen Van The from Bac Ninh Diocese was assaulted by thugs” (“Cha Giuse Nguyen Van The Giao phan Bac Ninh bi con do hanh hung”), Tin mung cho nguoi ngheo, May 10, 2016, http://www.tinmungchonguoingheo.com/blog/2016/05/10/cha-giuse-nguyen-van-the-giao-phan-bac-ninh-bi-con-do-hanh-hung/ (accessed June 3, 2016). 96 Ibid.


Father Nguyen Van The was badly injured in the attack and was taken to Hung Vuong hospital in Phu Tho province for treatment. He had many cuts and bruises on his arms, hands, and right knee. The incident was reported to the local police.

Attack on Nguyen Ngoc Tan and Nguyen Thi Lien, April 22, 2016 Independent Hoa Hao Buddhist followers Nguyen Ngoc Tan and Nguyen Thi Lien were on the way home after attending a prayer session at the home of fellow Hoa Hao Buddhist activist Le Van Soc in Binh Minh, Vinh Long province, on April 22, 2016, when they were attacked by men in civilian clothing. Le Van Soc told RFA Vietnamese that the men separated Nguyen Ngoc Tan and Nguyen Thi Lien from a group of six people and attacked them.97

“They kicked the motorbike. When it fell, four people jumped in to beat her [Nguyen Thi Lien] and Nguyen Ngoc Tan. Two men kicked her.”98

Nguyen Ngoc Tan suffered many bruises and Nguyen Thi Lien was taken to the hospital for emergency treatment.99 On June 3, 2016, unknown men threw rotten shrimp paste into Nguyen Ngoc Tan’s house in Binh Minh, Vinh Long province.

Attack on Nguyen Dinh Cuong, April 14, 2016 Former political prisoner Nguyen Dinh Cuong was on his way home on April 14, 2016, from a wedding engagement ceremony when he was stopped by the police and taken to the police headquarters of Dien Dong commune, Dien Chau district, Nghe An province. He told a freelance reporter with Thanh nien Cong giao (Catholic Youth) that at the police station:

Several police in civilian clothing beat and punched me repeatedly on my neck, head, and body. They even used a mug to strike my head.100

97 “Hoa Hao Buddhist followers were attacked” (“Tin do Phat giao Hoa Hao bi tan cong”), Radio Free Asia Vietnamese, April 22, 2016, http://www.rfa.org/vietnamese/vietnamnews/hoahao-followers-attack-b-plainclothes-policemen-04222016150028.html (accessed June 5, 2016). 98 Ibid. 99 Ibid. 100 Thien Vinh, “The police threatened to “eliminate” former prisoner of conscience Nguyen Dinh Cuong: I do not give a damn about the law” (“Cong an doa ‘tieu diet’ cuu TNLT Nguyen Dinh Cuong: Tao dech can luat”), Thanh nien Cong giao, April 14, 2016, http://thanhnienconggiao.blogspot.com/2016/04/cong-doa-tieu-diet-cuu-tnlt-nguyen-inh.html (accessed May 4, 2016).


He claimed that the police also tore off the “No China” t-shirt he was wearing. Nguyen Dinh Cuong had previously been arrested in December 2011 for allegedly “carrying out activities that aim at overthrowing the people’s administration” and sentenced to four years in prison. He is currently serving four years’ probation, which restricts his movement within his residential commune.

Attack on Truong Van Dung, Trung Nghia, Tu Anh Tu, and Can Thi Theu, April 8, 2016 On April 8, 2016, several dozen rights activists gathered at a café near the US Embassy in Hanoi to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the pro-democracy Bloc 8406. The participants decided to march to demand the release of prominent lawyer Nguyen Van Dai and fellow activist Le Thu Ha who were arrested in December 2015 and charged with conducting propaganda against the state. The police dispersed the march and detained seven activists. A witness named Mai Phuong Thao (also known as Tha

no country for human rights activists · 2018. 1. 13. · no country for human rights activists 2...

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